Elastic engaging element

ABSTRACT

An elastic engaging element engages a second component with a first component. The engaging element includes an elastic coil having a first end and a second end having an exterior diameter at least larger than a second diameter of a through hole of the second component, an extension wire extending from the first end of the elastic coil, passing through the whole elastic coil, and to the second end of the elastic coil, and a hooking portion integrated with the extension wire and located in a region outside of the elastic coil, the hooking portion having a contour size at least larger than a first diameter of a through hole of the first component and being capable of elastically deformed and passing through the through holes of the first and second components and then hooking up to a top surface of the first component.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention generally relates to engaging elements, and more specifically, to an elastic engaging element that is capable of engaging one device with another device by passing through these two devices by means of elasticity.

2. Description of Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1, a cooling block 10 is in contact with a central processing unit (not shown) installed on a circuit board 11. The cooling block 10 has a pair of through holes 101, and the circuit board 11 has two corresponding through holes 111, which have diameters slightly smaller than those of the through holes 101. The cooling block 10 can be engaged with the circuit board 11 by a pair of engaging elements 13 each of which is mounted with a spring 14. The engaging element 13 has a pressing head 130 at top and a blocking bump rim 131 at bottom. The blocking bump rim 131 has a diameter slightly smaller than that of either of the through holes 101, and is capable of passing through the through holes 101. The spring 14 is mounted on the engaging element 13 and is located between the pressing head 130 and the blocking bump rim 131, by having the blocking bump rim 131 coming out through the through hole 111, and also by pressing the spring 14 via the pressing head 130 at the top of the through hole 101 or through any blocking structure inside the through hole 101, the cooling block 10 is integrated to the circuit board 11.

Since the blocking bump rim 131 must have a feature capability of slightly elastic deformation, the engaging element is always made of plastic at the present and the spring 14 and the engaging element 13 are made separately before assembling.

Accordingly, the procedure of integrating the spring 14 to the engaging element 13 must overcome the elasticity and thus has a certain fabrication difficulty, therefore, the assembling of both parts is pricey at time and labor.

Besides, the individual manufacture of the spring 14 and the engaging element 13 needs two separate production lines, thus causes higher production cost as well as material management cost.

In addition, after being used for a long time, the plastic engaging element 13 derogates easily because of the elasticity propping up of the spring, therefore, the plastic engaging element 13 has the disadvantage of low durability.

Hence, it is a highly urgent issue in the industry for how to provide a technique which can effectively solve the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide an elastic engaging element that is capable of integrating two components into one single unit.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide an elastic engaging element that is capable of integrating two components and saves production cost as well.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide an elastic engaging element that is capable of integrating two components and has high durability as well.

To achieve the aforementioned and other objectives, an elastic engaging element is provided according to the present invention. The elastic engaging element engages a second component to a first component stacked on top of the second component, the first and second components each having corresponding through holes. The engaging element includes an elastic coil having a first end and a second end, the second end having an exterior diameter at least larger than a second diameter of the through hole of the second component, in order to have the second end keep propping against a bottom surface of the second component; an extension wire integrated with the elastic coil and extending from the first end of the elastic coil, passing through the whole elastic coil, and to the second end of the elastic coil; and a hooking portion integrated with the extension wire and located in a region outside of the elastic coil, the hooking portion having a contour size at least larger than a first diameter of the through hole of the first component and being capable of elastically deformed and passing through the through holes of the first and second components and then hooking up to a top surface of the first component.

The first and the second components can be a cooling block and a circuit board respectively, or any other two devices each has corresponding through holes for integrating both together.

Compared with the engaging element of the prior art, wherein, a spring has to be made separately before integrating the cooling block to the circuit board, the engaging element of the present has an elastic coil that is for elastically propping against the bottom surface of the second component as well as a hooking portion that is for hooking up to the top surface of the first component, therefore, a single unit can integrate the first and the second components, thus saves the fabricating procedure of the prior art.

The engaging element of the present invention can be made of metal as a single unit, compared with the prior art that requires to have the engaging element and the spring made separately, the present invention has the advantage of saving production cost.

In addition, the engaging element of the present invention is made of metal, therefore, it has better ductility and malleability, thus has longer durability to avoid the deterioration of the plastic engaging element because of long time use as in the prior art.

In view of the aforementioned descriptions, the engaging element of the present invention is capable of overcoming the drawbacks of the prior art, therefore, it has high industrial advantageous value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a cooling block engaged with a circuit board by an engaging element according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an elastic engaging element of the preferred embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a first component engaged with a second component by the elastic engaging element shown in FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are two side views illustrating the engaging of the first component with the second component by the elastic engaging element shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following illustrative embodiments are provided to illustrate the disclosure of the present invention, these and other advantages and effects can be apparently understood by those in the art after reading the disclosure of this specification. The present invention can also be performed or applied by other different embodiments. The details of the specification may be on the basis of different points and applications, and numerous modifications and variations can be devised without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, an elastic engaging element 2 of the present invention comprises an elastic coil 20, an extension wire 21 extending from a first end 201 of the elastic coil 20, passing through the whole elastic coil 20, and to a second end 202 of the elastic coil 20, and a hooking portion 22 connected to the extension wire 21 and located in a region outside of the elastic coil 20.

The elastic coil 20, extension wire 21 and hooking portion 22 of the engaging element 2 can be integrated into a single unit and made of metal wires. The hooking portion 22 is capable of being elastically deformed, and comprises a propping rod 221 and a curved operating rod 222. The propping rod 221 is perpendicular to the extension wire 21.

Referring to FIG. 3, the engaging element 2 of the present invention is capable of engaging a first component 3 to a second component 4. The first component 3 can be a cooling block having a plurality of through holes 31, and the second component 4 can be a circuit board provided with a heat generating device 40 and having a plurality of through holes 41 corresponding to the through holes 31.

It should be noted that, besides the cooling block and the circuit board, the first and the second components can be any other two components that have corresponding through holes.

The extension wire 21 of the engaging element 2 is for passing through the through holes 31 of the first component 3 and the through holes 41 of the second component 4, and extends along an axis of the elastic coil 20. The diameter of at least the second end 202 of the elastic coil 20 is at least larger than the diameter of the through hole 41. Thus, the elastic coil 20 is capable of propping against the bottom surface of the second component 4 while the extension wire 21 passes through the through holes 31 and 41. The contour size of the hooking portion 22 is larger than the diameter of the through hole 31, and the hooking portion 22 is capable of passing through the through holes 31 and 41 and then hooking up to the top surface of the first component 3 by means of its elasticity deformation feature in order to further have the first component 3 integrate to the second component 4.

In the preferred embodiment, the depths of the through holes 31 of the first component 3 and the through holes 41 of the second component 4 are small, therefore the through hole 31 and the through hole 41 can be of equal diameter, and the first end 201 and the second end 202 of the elastic coil 20 can be of equal perimeter as well.

By engaging the first component 3 with the second component 4, the heat generating device 40 of the second component 4 is capable of being in contact with the cooling block of the first component 3, thus the heat generated by the heat generating device 40 can be dissipated.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the elastic coil 20 is capable of propping against the bottom surface of the second component 4, and being pressed to a region outside of the through hole 41. The hooking portion 22 is then hooking up to the top surface of the first component 3 by means of its propping rod 221, and in the installation process, have the bend end of the operating section 222 of the hooking portion 22 protrude out of the through hole 31, and then pull move the operating section 222 outside the through hole 31 thus to have the whole hooking portion 22 pass through the through hole 31.

Compared with the engaging element of the prior art that requires producing a separate spring before making use of the engaging element to integrate the cooling block to the circuit board, the engaging element 2 of the present invention has an elastic coil 20 that is for elastically propping against the bottom surface of the second component 4 as well as a hooking portion 22 that is for hooking up to the top surface of the first component 3, therefore, a single unit is capable of integrating the first and the second components, thus saves the fabrication procedure of the prior art.

Compared with the prior art, wherein, the elastic element and the engaging element must be made separately, the engaging element 2 of the present invention can be a single unit made of metal, thereby having the advantage of saving production cost.

In addition, the engaging element 2 of the present invention is made of metal, therefore, it has better ductility and malleability, thus has longer durability to avoid the deterioration of the plastic engaging element because of long time use as in the prior art.

In view of the aforementioned advantageous features, the engaging element of the present invention is capable of overcoming the drawbacks of the prior art, therefore it has high industrial advantageous value.

The foregoing descriptions of the detailed embodiments are only illustrated to disclose the features and functions of the present invention and not restrictive of the scope of the present invention. It should be understood to those in the art that all modifications and variations according to the spirit and principle in the disclosure of the present invention should fall within the scope of the appended claims. 

1. An elastic engaging element for engaging a second component to a first component stacked on top of the second component, the first and second components each having corresponding through holes, the engaging element comprising: an elastic coil having a first end and a second end, the second end having an exterior diameter at least larger than a second diameter of the through hole of the second component, in order to have the second end keep propping against a bottom surface of the second component; an extension wire integrated with the elastic coil and extending from the first end of the elastic coil, passing through the whole elastic coil, and to the second end of the elastic coil; and a hooking portion integrated with the extension wire and located in a region outside of the elastic coil, the hooking portion having a contour size at least larger than a first diameter of the through hole of the first component and being capable of elastically deformed and passing through the through holes of the first and second components and then hooking up to a top surface of the first component.
 2. The elastic engaging element of claim. 1, wherein the extension wire is extended along an axis of the elastic coil.
 3. The engaging element of claim 1, wherein the hooking portion comprises a propping rod connected to and perpendicular to the extension wire, and an operating rod connected to the propping rod.
 4. The engaging element of claim 3, wherein the operating rod is curved. 